Music Fests: Austin City Limits 2009

We are a little slower in reporting on this but in one word I'm 'GEEKED'. This lineup looks fantastic, I'd say close to spectacular...

I'd say of the 2009 fests this is THE ONE. To top things off ACL has finally wised up and shifted their fest into the cooler month of October. Anyhoo take a look. With Pearl Jam, Kings Of Leon, and The Beastie Boys on top you don't need much more. List doesn't stop there either. Dead Weather, Ghostland Observatory, Mos Def, Avett Brothers, I feel like I'm listing every band. Grizzly Bear, Dan Auerbach, Medeski, Martin, and Wood. Sneak my boys Dr. Dog in the mix and it's icing on the cake, not to mention Blitzen Trapper. That album Furr is still in heavy rotation on my stereo. Man I just have to get tix and make the trip. Id also love to see Black Joe Lewis, Alberta Cross, Airborne Toxic Event, I even get a little country with Reckless Kelly and Zac Brown Band. Full List below. What are your thoughts? What do you think the Best Fest of 2009 is?

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS music festival
the 2009 lineup

* Pearl Jam
* Dave Matthews Band
* Beastie Boys
* Kings of Leon
* Ben Harper and Relentless7
* Thievery Corporation
* John Legend
* The Dead Weather
* The Levon Helm Band
* Ghostland Observatory

* Sonic Youth
* Mos Def
* Toadies
* Flogging Molly
* The B-52s
* Lily Allen
* Citizen Cope
* Arctic Monkeys
* The Decemberists
* Coheed and Cambria
* Andrew Bird
* Girl Talk
* STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
* Phoenix
* Bassnectar
* Bon Iver
* !!!
* Avett Brothers
* The Airborne Toxic Event
* Medeski, Martin & Wood
* Clutch
* Michael Franti & Spearhead
* Grizzly Bear
* Heartless Bastards
* Passion Pit
* White Lies

* Dan Auerbach
* The Walkmen
* The Scabs
* Reckless Kelly
* DeVotchka
* Blitzen Trapper
* The Virgins
* Here We Go Magic
* Eek-A-Mouse
* K'Naan
* Asleep at the Wheel
* Dr. Dog
* The Raveonettes
* The Knux
* Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
* State Radio
* Los Amigos Invisibles
* The Felice Brothers
* Federico Aubele
* Raul Malo
* Daniel Johnston
* Poi Dog Pondering
* Brett Dennen
* Rodriguez
* Henry Butler
* Preservation Hall
* Sam Roberts Band
* The Greencards
* Sara Watkins
* Walter "Wolfman" Washington
* David Garza
* John Vanderslice
* Zac Brown Band
* Todd Snider
* School of Seven Bells
* The Dodos
* Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3
* Alberta Cross
* Deer Tick
* Bell X1
* Alela Diane
* The Wood Brothers
* The Parlor Mob
* Rebirth Brass Band
* Marva Wright
* Terri Hendrix
* L.A.X.
* Lisa Hannigan
* The Low Anthem
* Sons of Bill
* Suckers
* Sarah Jaffe
* Cotton Jones
* The Henry Clay People
* Papa Mali
* Jypsi
* Vince Mira
* Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights
* Mimicking Birds
* Jeffrey Steele
* Jonell Mosser
* Leatherbag
* Keith Gattis
* Damien Horne
* Sarah Siskind
* The Dexateens
* Nelo
* Danny Brooks
* Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
* The Soul Stirrers
* The Durdens
* Palm School Elementary
* The Gospel Silvertones
* Diaconos
* Quinn Sullivan
* Ralph's World
* Q Brothers
* Milkshake
* Telephone Company
* Loose Cannons
* Lunch Money
* Paul Green's School of Rock All Stars
* Mr. Leebot
* Secret Agent 23 Skidoo


Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

Live Chicago: Talib Kweli

I received notice of this show this morning:

This Saturday, May 2nd, Talib Kweli is coming to Chicago to perform at
the Dare 2 Dream benefit concert at the House of Blues hosted by
Platform One Entertainment.The event will benefit Chicago's Public
School students and a great organization called Working in the
Schools (WITS) that works with a lot of under-privileged Chicago Public School students that need our help! We'd love it if you could all come
out to show love and support for the cause and the kids in our schools! Talib
is performing twice that night with doors opening for the first show at
5:00pm and doors opening for the second show at 10:30pm. You can buy a
ticket at Ticketmaster.com

More info @ www.platform-1.com
Everyone needs a little hip-hop sometimes...Should be a pretty good show, doubt I'll make it after my Kentucky Derby festivities though.

Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

Lollapalooza 2009 Lineup Disection

Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

After last week's announcement of the official Lollapalooza 2009 lineup Jim and I began discussing and dissecting. We each went through the list and highlighted first the bands we have seen, and second the bands we have not yet seen but were on our radar and have interest in seeing, the remaining bands were then bands we knew little or nothing about.

A list of performers like this (which I think is light on the top and heavy in the middle-middle bottom) has the potential to pose some very interesting questions as to who would you rather see when the actual set times are released. All that being said, I’ve never seen Tool and I probably wouldn’t go to a stand-alone show. But they could be f-ing awesome. Stinkfist!

** = Will See

Jim
Rise Against
Heartless Bastards
Other Lives
Animal Collective**
Bon Iver**
Band of Horses**
Fleet Foxes**
Coheed and Cambria**


Riley
Ben Harper
Atmosphere

Jim & Riley
Beastie Boys**
Kings of Leon
Andrew Bird**
Vampire Weekend
Dan Auerbach
Robert Earl Keen
Delta Spirit

Definitely Want To See
Tool
The Killers
Cold War Kids
Alberta Cross

Would Be Interested In See
Blind Pilot
Ra Ra Riot
The Airborne Toxic Event
Lykke Li
Deerhunter
Santigold
Arctic Monkeys
Of Montreal
TV on the Radio
Lou Reed
Peter Bjorn and John

Need To Do Some More Homework
Thievery Corporation
Neko Case
Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Passion Pit
Zap Mama
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
White Lies
No Age
Los Campesinos!
Bat For Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Greencards
Carney
Thenewno2

No Interest In Seeing
Asher Roth
Ben Folds
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
The Decemberists
Snoop Dogg
Jane's Addiction
Depeche Mode

Music Fests: Outside Lands 2009

More festivals. San Francisco's Outside Lands fest will feature, Pearl Jam, Dave Mathews Band, Beastie Boys, The Dead Weather, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Band Of Horses, Calexico, The National, Mastadon, Heartless Bastards...and many more, including Blind Pilot.

Looks good to me, maybe a trip to San Fran is in store. Another band on the list I noticed was Dengue Fever, haven't heard much of their tunes but I saw a cool gig poster of theirs over @ El Jefe Design. Worth it in my mind just to see Pearl Jam again...anything else is bonus. Your thoughts?

Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

Rocker Hottie Of The Week - Serena Ryder

This week's RHOTW brings us another winner that hails from our neighbor to the north. The lovely Canadian vocalist, Serena Ryder. I first heard her single "Weak In The Knees" last year with its inclusion on the Bonnaroo iTunes sampler. It's a catchy tune. This year her full length EP Is It OK has just been released in the US after winning a Juno is Canada for Best Adult Alternative Album of The Year. You can pick up the album for the low low price of $5 from her website. She has also recently put out a cover of Band Of Horses 'The Funeral' which puts an interesting twist on a jam of a tune. Have a listen below and take in a few more pictures...





Serena Ryder - The Funeral

See her live on one of her upcoming stops.

Headlining shows:
04/28 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Avalon Theater (Free)
04/29 - Denver, CO @ Soiled Dove ($9.73 Ticket)
05/01 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre ($5.00 ticket. Headlining show
05/02 - Detroit, MI @ Hard Rock Café. Free headlining show
05/03 - Plymouth, MI @ Downtown Plymouth. Free headlining show
05/04 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café. Free headlining show

Opening for Eric Hutchinson
05/05 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
05/06 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
05/07 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
05/08 - Boston, MA @ The Roxy
05/09 - Northhampton, MA @ Pearl Street
05/10 - Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird
05/13 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
05/15 - Lexington, MI @ Lexington Music Theater
05/16 - Lexington, MI @ Lexington Music Theater
05/19 - Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
05/20 - Orlando, FL @ The Social
05/22 - Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl At Center Stage
05/23 - Towson, MD @ Recher Theater


Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

M. Ward @ the Vic 4/26/09 Chicago, IL

A beer or two @ Sheffield's with DanK pre show turned to 3, 4, 5. We eventually walked over to the Vic and said to eachother, man the Opener is still on, listened and looked again and realized no it was in fact M.Ward and Co. Ha, so we were a little late, still got to hear some good jams. 3 or 4 songs later and oops we were really late for the show it was now the Encore break. F-en Sunday evening shows. Ha, despite missing out on much of the set it was a great show and really perfect for a Sunday. We got just a taste to wet our appetites and bud further interest in M. Ward. Both DanK and myself are not all too familiar with M.Ward's tunes so I think it benefited us to only catch a blip. Loved his version of 'Rollover Beethoven' and his other songs I don't know the names of. I'll have to dive in to his body of work, the kid can play, perform, write...and draws a pretty fun crowd. Portland, Ore I thank you for all the good talent. No setlist, but if I find one I'll post it.

I know the Steam Engine guy was there, maybe he'll have a more detailed review...Monday mornings are not my thing.

Some samples:
M. Ward - Right In The Head

M. Ward - Rave On

Buy M. Ward's album - Hold Time


Lots of dates left in the tour, get into it...

Apr 27 2009 8:00P The Phoenix Toronto, Ontario
Apr 28 2009 8:00P Le National Montreal, Quebec
May 15 2009 7:00P Fox Theater Visalia, California
May 16 2009 7:00P Fox Theater Oakland, California
May 22 2009 7:00P McDonald Theater Eugene, Oregon
May 23 2009 5:00P Sasquatch Festival George
Jun 25 2009 8:00P Debaser Stockholm, Stockholms län
Jun 28 2009 8:00P Rescue Rooms Nottingham
Jun 29 2009 8:00P Club Academy Manchester
Jun 30 2009 8:00P Shepherds Bush Empire London
Jul 3 2009 8:00P Rock Werchter Festival Werchter, Flemish Brabant
Jul 4 2009 8:00P Tivoli Utrecht, Utrecht
Jul 22 2009 8:00P XX Merge Carrboro, North Carolina
Jul 23 2009 8:00P XX Merge Carrboro, North Carolina
Jul 23 2009 8:00P Twilight Concert Series Salt Lake City, Utah
Jul 24 2009 8:00P XX Merge Carrboro, North Carolina
Jul 25 2009 8:00P XX Merge Carrboro, North Carolina
Jul 26 2009 8:00P XX Merge Carrboro, North Carolina
Jul 27 2009 8:00P 40 Watt Salt Lake City, Utah
Jul 28 2009 8:00P Cannery Ballroom Nashville, Tennessee
Jul 30 2009 8:00P WASHINGTON, Washington DC
Aug 1 2009 8:00P Central Park Summerstage New York City, New York


Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

The Flatlanders @ Old Town School of Folk Music 4/25/09 Chicago, IL (Setlist)

Strange weather in Chicago on Saturday, 80º to 40º to 70º, sunny, windy, rainy, overcast all in one day...knowing the Flatlanders are in town I suspect they brought some of that Mystical West Texas Wind with them.

I'd been dying to see the Flatlanders (Joe Ely, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock) since I discovered Joe Ely about a year ago. In my discovery of him I stumbled upon a documentary about West Texas and Music. Check it out, Lubbock Lights (2003). Anyway thats the short story on how I got interested in the Flatlanders. The band recently released a new album, Hills and Valleys. Solid set, filled with new and old favorites, Joe Ely even played some of his own stuff like Dallas. A fun group to watch, Joe, Jimmy, and Butch all traded off taking the mic and fronting the band which offered a nice balance of pace and sound. For a group of old guys they rocked, playing till almost 1 am. They finished off the night with a Townes Van Zandt cover, 'White Freight Liner'...love it.

Oh and the opener, Jenny Scheinman, worked a little 'Mystery Train' in to her set...great song

Hopes Up High
Eggs of your Chicken
Wavin' My Heart Goodbye
Sew The Seed/All That You Need
Julia
Wheels of Fortune
Homeland Refugee
Borderless Love
After the Storm
Midnight Train
Thank God For The Road
No Way I'll Never Need You
Love's Own Chains
The Way We Are
Dallas

•••Encore Break•••

Snowing on the Mountain
South Wind of Summer
Wishin' For A Rainbow
Keeper of the Mountain
Ride To Heaven Boy
White Freight-Liner





Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

Wilco @ Pabst Theatre 4/15/09 - Setlist & Concert Review

Special thanks to guest contributor and loyal HGH follower, Tito Forrest for the review below.

A few weeks ago, I went to one of the Wilco shows at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. On the ride up from Chicago, my brother, his friend, and his friend’s friend talked about the past Wilco shows they’d been to. They’d all seen Wilco at least seven times apiece. My brother’s friend’s friend had seen them more than a dozen times, if you count the handful of Jeff Tweedy solo shows he caught at the Fillmore in San Francisco. This was my first Wilco show, so it was something of a loss of virginity. Extending the sexual metaphor, we all agreed that the best way to approach a concert by one of your favorite bands is to practice a little tantra—i.e., delayed gratification, depriving yourself of listening to their music in the three weeks leading up to the show—to heighten your enjoyment of seeing them live. I hadn’t listened to Wilco in a couple months. So I was going to lose my Wilco virginity. Furthermore, I was going to do it tantra-style.


The show didn’t disappoint. In fact, it was the best concert I’ve been to since I saw Pavement at Dillo Day when I was sixteen. The venue was perfect. The Pabst is what hack reviewers (like me) call intimate. The upper balcony gives you the impression that you’re suspended directly above the stage, which, if I hadn’t been ideally drunk, would have induced panic.

Wilco didn’t play any new stuff. It was kind of a greatest-hits concert (see the set list below). Which was fine with me. They played my favorite song. Of course, one of the immutable laws of concert-going is the band always plays your favorite song as soon as you’ve left your seat to go piss. I was standing in line for the bathroom when I heard the opening acoustic guitar from “War on War.” “I’ll piss when I’m dead,” I said to the guys in line with me, quickly grabbed a beer (ninth or tenth), and returned to my seat, catching the back half of that tremendous tune. “War on War” and the other twenty-two songs they performed ranged from merely very good to fucking terrific.

Part of the fun of a Wilco show is watching Nels Cline. His sartorial taste tends to the tight and bright: his Christmas-red drainpipe highwaters elicited several comments from the crowd, and at one point they stopped the music so he could do a Zoolander-style, Brunoesque, Right-Said-Fred runway walk. His guitar-playing is pretty amazing: his hand moves with the blurry rapidity of an electric fan. Like a hummingbird. Also impressive was Pat Sansone, the band’s utility infielder, who played keyboards, guitar, and (if drunken memory serves) some sort of wind instrument, at different points of the show. Jeff Tweedy sung and played well throughout, and charmed the local crowd by wearing a Brewers cap during the encores. He also conspicuously declined to wear the Cubs hat someone had thrown on stage. (My brother and I—White Sox fans—loved that as much as the Wisconsinites around us did.) My only disappointment with the show is they didn’t play “Theologians.” The highpoint was the finale: “I’m a Wheel.” What a fucking great song that is.

One more thing: the music from “Sky Blue Sky” sounds much better in concert than on CD, and hearing songs like “Impossible Germany” performed live deepened my appreciation of the CD. Grading on their bullshit Wilco curve, Pitchfork gave “Sky Blue Sky” only a 5.2. But what do you expect from the people who gave music a 6.8?

The set list, with a few gaps:

1. Hell Is Chrome
2. Company in My Back
3. At Least That’s What You Said
4. [something from Mermaid Avenue]
5. You Are My Face
6. She’s a Jar
7. [Didn’t catch this one]
8. Handshake Drugs
9. War on War
10. I am Trying to Break Your Heart
11. Jesus, Etc.
12. Impossible Germany
13. Forget the Flowers
14. I Am the Man Who Loves You
15. Misunderstood
16. Remember Me
17. Shot in the Arm
18. Hate It Here
19. Box Full of Letters

First encore:

20. The Late Greats
21. Red-Eyed and Blue

Second encore:

22. Casino Queen
23. I’m a Wheel

Thanks again, Tito. It sounds like it was a good show.



Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

TGIF JAMS

Summer has hit the streets. Can't wait for Flatlanders tomorrow, and M.Ward on Sunday. Here are your weekly tunes...

enjoy!

The Dutchess & The Duke - Out Of Time - Buy Album

The Bakerton Group - The Mack - Buy Album

Black Mountain - Stormy High - Buy Album

Gojira - Clone - Buy Album

Badfinger - Come and Get It - Buy Album

Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

On Tour On Bicycle: Blind Pilot

I first heard about Blind Pilot a couple weeks back on a recommendation from someone I'd just met. My interest was piqued when I read today that for a couple of their early tours they had traveled strictly by bike.

Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski met in college at the University of Oregon and began writing songs and playing music together in Portland. When they took their show on the road they opted to do so by bicycle. This wasn't a tour with a support car. They constructed bike trailers to pull their instruments and gear along with them. Instead of a tour bus, they camped along the way. Their fist such tour was planned to run from Vancouver down the Pacific Coast to Southern California. The trip was cut short when their bikes were stolen in San Francisco. Despite such hiccups associated bike travel the band remained committed to their opted for mode of transport and set out on another tour again by bicycle. This time with added members Katie Claborn on banjo and dulcimer, and bassist Luke Ydstie.
The bike tour seems to suit them just fine as Nebeker says, "[The tour] was actually a pretty great way to meet people, because then they'd ask about what we were doing. We'd tell them we were playing music down the coast."
Blind Pilot have continued to grow as a band (having up to nine members for some shows) and for their current tour they even have a van, but the early bike tours are a pretty cool way of doing the upstart musician circuit. Read some more about their travels by bike and otherwise over at NPR. Listen to a performance of theirs while you're there. Also be sure to check out there own website where you can listen to a couple tracks and check out their postcards from the road. A good sound and a really cool mode of early tour travel. Check 'em out at Lollapalooza or Outside Lands this summer or any of their other tour dates below.

The following dates are supporting Counting Crows and The Hold Steady

5/4 - Ahoy - Rotterdam, Netherlands
5/7 - Odyssey Arena - Belfast, UK
5/8 - 02 Arena - Dublin, Ireland
5/10 - Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre
5/11 - MENA - Manchester, UK
5/13 - NIA - Birmingham, UK
5/14 - Wembley Arena - London, UK
5/16 - Cardiff Arena - Cardiff, UK
5/18 - BIC - Bournemouth, UK
5/20 - ICA - London, UK* supporting Akron/Family
5/21 - Brixton Academy - Brixton, UK *with Counting Crows only

5/23/09 Sasquatch Music Festival @ Gorge Amphitheater - George, WA

The following dates are supporting The Decemberists

5/24: Wilma Theater, Missoula, MT - Tickets
5/26: Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO - Tickets
5/27: Uptown Theater, Kansas City, MO - Tickets
5/29: Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI - Tickets
5/31: Pageant, St Louis, MO - Tickets
6/01: Lifestyle Communities Pavilion, Columbus, OH
6/03: Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
6/04: Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh, NC
6/05: The National, Richmond, VA

The following dates are headlining shows

6/06: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
6/07: Black Cat, Washington DC
6/09: Johnny Brendas, Philadelphia, PA
6/10: TT the Bears, Cambridge, MA
6/11: Il Motore, Montreal, Canada
6/12: El Mocambo, Toronto, Canada
6/13: Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY
6/14: Pike Room, Pontiac, MI
6/16: High Noon, Madison, WI
6/17: 400 Bar, Minneapolis, MN

The following dates are supporting The Decemberists and Andrew Bird

7/17: Marymoor Amphitheater, Redmond, WA
7/18: Edgefield Amphitheater, Troutdale, OR
7/19: Edgefield Amphitheater, Troutdale, OR


Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook

2009 Lollapalooza Lineup - Official

Very, Very, Very Solid. Love to see Band Of Horses in the Mix, and of course Beastie Boys, King of Leon, Killers, Dan Auerbach, Robert Earl Keen, Heartless Bastards, ALberta Cross, Vampire Weekend...and the many more I don't already love...


GET TICKETS!

* Depeche Mode
* Tool
* The Killers
* Jane's Addiction
* Beajavascript:void(0)stie Boys
* Kings of Leon

* Lou Reed
* Ben Harper and Relentless7
* Thievery Corporation
* Snoop Dogg
* Rise Against
* Andrew Bird
* TV on the Radio

* Vampire Weekend
* The Decemberists
* Neko Case
* STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
* Animal Collective
* Band of Horses
* Of Montreal

* Arctic Monkeys
* Coheed and Cambria
* Ben Folds
* Fleet Foxes
* Silversun Pickups
* Kaiser Chiefs
* Crystal Castles
* Bon Iver
* Santigold
* Atmosphere
* Dan Auerbach
* Cold War Kids
* Deerhunter
* Lykke Li
* Robert Earl Keen
* Peter Bjorn and John
* Heartless Bastards
* Gomez
* Glasvegas
* Federico Aubele
* Dan Deacon
* Passion Pit
* Zap Mama
* The Raveonettes
* The Gaslight Anthem

* The Airborne Toxic Event
* White Lies
* Ra Ra Riot
* No Age
* Asher Roth
* Los Campesinos!
* Bat For Lashes
* Chairlift
* Gang Gang Dance
* The Virgins
* Amazing Baby
* Portugal. The Man
* The Knux
* Ida Maria
* Delta Spirit
* Friendly Fires
* Manchester Orchestra
* Constantines
* Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
* Hockey
* Miike Snow
* Alberta Cross
* Hey Champ
* Sam Roberts Band
* The Henry Clay People
* Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
* Cage the Elephant
* Living Things
* The Low Anthem
* Blind Pilot
* Langhorne Slim
* Other Lives
* The Builders and The Butchers
* Eric Church
* Joe Pug
* Kevin Devine
* The Greencards
* Carney
* Thenewno2




Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | Facebook